


Nathaniel's Alive, the little bastard

by Onehelluvapilot



Category: Bartimaeus - Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21633460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: I wrote this in literally sixth grade and just posted it as a way to practice footnotes. Enjoy!
Relationships: Bartimaeus & Nathaniel (Bartimaeus)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Nathaniel's Alive, the little bastard

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in literally sixth grade and just posted it as a way to practice footnotes. Enjoy!

It was my second summons of the day[1] and I'd had enough. My previous task had been trivial, but the magician had succeeded in trying my patience to the full extent of its limits. "Bartimaeus, light the candles. Bartimaeus, put out the candles. Bartimaeus, break into So-and-So's safe and steal So-and-So's stuff. Bartimaeus, run around in circles on the roof until it catches fire.”[ 2]

What was more, this second summons came only minutes after my dismissal. I was thoroughly fed up with magicians. Accordingly, I decided on a form that would test my master's patience, drawn from an idea I got at a mass summoning[3]. I took the form of a footstool.

"Bartimaeus, I thought I told you that that wasn't a djinni." I froze, as much as a piece of wood can freeze, before slowly morphing into Ptolemy's form. There he was, standing right in front of me[4], looking as alive as the day... Well. The day he'd died.

"I thought I’d finally gotten rid of you,” I managed, finally regaining my words. "Nice to see you too, Bartimaeus," said Nathaniel. "Well at least Kitty must be pleased."

“Yeah, um, about that. I need you to figure out where she is,” he replied.

"Wow. She's your girlfriend for all of ten minutes and you've already lost her," I teased. Nathaniel's cheeks turned an unnatural shade of pink[5]. “Where are we anyway?” I looked out the window. Instead of familiar towers and buildings, there was nothing but wide open landscape[6.]. “This isn’t London, is it?”

“America,” he replied. His nose wrinkled a little bit in disgust. I understood his feeling. America pretended to be founded on freedom, but was really built on the backs of slaves, both human and spirit.

“Why?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be dead anyway.”

“I know. I don’t know why I’m not. According to the locals, I fell from the sky,” he explained. “I’ve been here a month, but I can’t get a message to anyone important.”

“Well, being dead does tend to complicate things.”

“That’s why I need you to find Kitty,” he replied. I huffed. I thought maybe something would have changed between us, but I guess not. I was still his slave.

“Fine, but only because I like her. She is way too good for you.” “Don’t I know it,” he said with a smile[7] as I dissolved into a wisp of smoke and flew out under the door.

**Author's Note:**

> 11Day being just a guess, of course. Time is different in the Other Place, as I find myself being constantly forced to remind you. Humans and your short-term memories.[return to text]  
> 22Okay, this last one I made up. But he might as well have asked me to; trying a djinni's patience only heightens their desire to secure a dismissal.[return to text]  
> 33We had all been summoned to track down an insane Afrit running around in the former prime minister's old bones. I ended up taking him out almost singlehandedly. Typical.[return to text]  
> 44In a second pentacle of course.[return to text]  
> 55It was quite a nice color actually. I'd have to replicate sometime on some hideous monster.[return to text]  
> 66It reminded me a little of the early days of Ur, before humans had left their ugly footprint on the world.[return to text]  
> 77It was almost scary how his face could contort like that.[return to text]


End file.
